Knockdown shipping container



A ril 19, 1966 H. G. BELL ETAL KNOCKDOWN SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed Feb.27, 1964 Ila 74M 5 a m NA WAG vu m m 56 I W R ww A3 .A H u W ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,246,787 KNOCKDOWN SHIPPING CONTAINER HarryGuthrie Bell and Jacob Douglas Gay, Jr., Paris, Ky., assignors toGay-Bell Corporation, Paris, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Filed Feb.27, 1964, Ser. No. 347,900 1 Claim. (Cl. 217-42) This invention relatesto a shipping container, and more specifically to one which may beeasily and quickly disassembled for storage or return shipment, andwhich, in the reverse, may be quickly set up to form a sturdy container.

There are many commercial instances where a product must be packaged forshipment in a rather substantial container, primarily for purposes ofprotection. In such cases, disposal of the container after userepresents a considerable waste.

In this circumstance, and in others where it is desirable to provide areusable shipping container, care must be taken so that the economyrealized will not be lost by the expense of shipping the container backto its origin, or of storing the empty container.

Accordingly,-it is a general object of this invention to provide ashipping container which is easily and quickly knocked down into a'smallfiat package for storage or shipment.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a knockdownshipping container which, when set up in its open form, provides asturdy container.

Still a further object of this invention is the provision of such acontainer which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

These objects, along with others which will become apparent to theskilled worker in the art upon reading this specification, areaccomplished by that certain construction and arrangement of parts shownin detail in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a side wall of the container ofthis invention, when viewed from inside the container;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational view of an end wall of the container ofthis invention;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing the union of aside wall and end wall of the container of this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective showing of a channel member secured to a sidewall;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 6;a

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing one way ofsecuring the end wall of the container to the bottom;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view showing a modification of the invention;and

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view showing a portion of aside wall and a portion of the container bottom.

Referring first to FIGURE 4, the top end portion of a side wall 10 isshown provided with a channel member indicated generally at 11. Thechannel member includes .a flat base 12, an outer'side wall 13, and anoutwardly projecting chime section 14 integrally formed with the innerwall 15. The chime section 14 is provided with a flat surface 16 facingtoward the inside of the container, and against which the end walls ofthe container bear in a manner more fully described hereinafter.

As shown in FIGURE 1, a side wall 10 is provided with a channel member11 at least along its end edges. If desired, similar channel members 11acan be secured to the top and bottom edges of the side panel, for thepurpose of supporting the top and bottom walls of the containerrespectively. Or if desired, one may conveniently use, along the topedges, the end hoop construction shown and described in a co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 347,901, filed February 27, 1964, in the namesof Harry Guthrie Bell and Jacob Douglas Gay, Jr., and entitled End Hoopfor Containers and the Like.

It will, of course, be understood that the channel members 11 may besecured to the side walls in any manner. It has been found that aplurality of staples passing through the outer wall 13, the containerside and the inner wall 15 near the free edge of the outer and innerwalls is very satisfactory. When secured in this manner, the staple 17projecting through the inner wall 15 serves as a slight abutment to holdthe end wall (or bottom or top wall as the case may be) against the flatsurface 16 of the chime section (see FIG. 3).

FIG. 2 shows in end elevation, one of the end panels for the knockdowncontainer of this invention. The end wall 18 is provided with the fourhook members 19, arranged in pairs of two adjacent each side edge of theend wall 18. As seen in cross-section in FIG. 3, the hook member 19includes a base portion 20 which is secured flat against the end wall 18.by means of the fasteners 21. The hook member 19 also includes a hookportion 22 which is oifset from the base portion 20 as clearly shown inthe drawings.

The channel members 11 secured to the end edges of the side walls 10 areprovided with a plurality of slots 23 arranged to mate with and engagethe hook portions 22 of the members 19.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the bottom edges of theside walls 10 are each provided with a channel member 11a which is inall respects identical with the channel member 11 described above. Asshown in FIG. 6, the inwardly facing flat surface 16a of the chimesection 1401 serves to support the bottom 24.

It is believed that the assembly of the elements of the container ofthis invention will now be clear. A pair of side walls 10 each havingthe channel members 11 on each end edge and a channel member 11a alongits bottom edge are held in spaced apart vertical position. A bottomwall 24 is laid in place on the surface 16a of the channel member 11a,and the end walls 18 may be inserted between the staples 17 and the flatsurface 16 of the channel member 11, with the hook portions 22 engagedin the notches 23 in the channel member 11. It will, of course, beapparent that the hook portions 22 are inserted into the slots 23, andthen the entire panel 18 is pushed downwardly until its bottom edgerests against the bottom 24 of the container. The container top may thenbe secured in place in any desired manner.

FIGS. 2 and 6 of the drawings also illustrate one method whereby the endwall 18 may be secured to its position resting against the bottom 24 ofthe container. This is accomplished by securing the channel members 11b(identical with the members 11 described above) to the end edges of thebottom 24. The channel members 11b are then provided with a central slot23b, which is engaged by the eccentric locking arm 25 which is pivotallysecured to the end panel 18.

It will now be apparent that by virtue of the construction of thisinvention, it is possible to produce a shipping container which, whenset up in condition for use, forms a very rigid shipping container; andyet it may be quickly and easily knocked down into six fiat pieces forstorage and shipment.

In the case of a smaller container, the side and end walls may desirablybe fabricated corrugated boXband. In this case, the end wall 30 will beprovided with the metal strip 31 spanning its entire width as shown inFIGURE 7, and secured thereto as by the staples 32. The outer ends 31aof the strip 31 are bent outwardly, and

extend through the slots 33 in the chime section 34 of the hoop andliner 35. These ends 31a may then be bent over, thereby securing the endwall in place.

In the preferred form of this embodiment, the strip 31 will be securedto the outer side of the end wall 30 as shown. The bend 31b of the strip31 may then be spaced inwardly from the side edge of the end wallitself, so that these side edges fit fiush against the inner Wall of thehoop and liner, wherein they will be engaged between the flat surface 36of the chime section and the staples 37, as described above.

Having fully and clearly described the invention in terms of anexemplary embodiment and a modification thereof, it will be understoodthat no limitations are to be inferred thereby.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by LettersPatent is:

A knockdown shipping container comprising:

(a) a pair of side walls,

(b) a channel member having an inwardly projecting chime section securedto the end edges of each said side wall, said chime section of each saidchannel member having at least one slot and a flat surface facing towardthe inside of said container,

(c) a channel member secured to at least one longitudinal edge of eachsaid side walls, said channel members having a bottom supportingsurface,

((1) a pair of end walls, the plane of said end walls beingsubstantially parallel to the said flat surface of said chime sections,

(e) at least one hook member secured to each side edge of each said endwall and engaging said slot in said chime section, the outer side edgeon each said end wall bearing against said flat surface of said chimesection when said hook is engaged in said chime section, said hookmembers each comprising a base portion secured to said end walls and ahook portion offset therefrom,

(f) a bot-tom abutting said channel member on said longitudinal edge ofsaid side Walls,

(g) additional channel members having inwardly projecting chime sectionssecured to the end edges of said bottom, said last named chime sectionseach having at least one slot, and

(h) a locking arm pivotally mounted on each end wall adjacent the bottomedge thereof and engaging said slot in said last named chime section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 995,719 6/1911Reineke 217-69 2,307,682 1/1943 Kamper 217-12 FOREIGN PATENTS 390,279 4/1933 Great Britain.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

THERON E. CONDON, Examiner.

